Safety cap suspension



June 11, 1968 J. N. SIMPSON ETAL 3,387,304

SAFETY CAP SUSPENSION Filed March 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 23 INVENTORSJACK N. SIMPSON WILLIAM R. BOHNER l'- ig4 BY 2:

their ATTORNEY June 11, 1968 J. N. SIMPSON ETAL 3,387,304

SAFETY CAP SUSPENS ION Filed March 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORSJACK N. SIMPSON WILLIAM R. BOHNER their ATTORNEY United States PatentDelaware Filed Mar. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 438,491 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-3) Thisinvention relates generally to a safety cap construction and, moreparticularly, to a crown strap suspension therefor for enabling easy andquick adjustment in height and perimeter of the suspension.

In the past, adjustable crown strap suspensions for safety headgear haveoften involved ditliculty in making adjustments in circumference andhave generally required removal of the entire suspension for makingadjustments in height.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel safety capconstruction and a novel suspension therefor which overcomes the abovenamed disadvantages and which enables adjustment in girth and heightwithout the necessity of removing the entire head band suspension, butby the mere detachment and attachment of collar buttons.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel crownstrap suspension which is permanently fastened to the inside of a safetycap and in which the height of the suspension may be quickly variedmerely by the detachment and re-attachment of the end portions of thecross straps which suspend permanently fastened, fingered suspendingelements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a crown strapsuspension for safety headgear which enables easy and quick detachmentand attachment to selective holes on the front portion of the headbandand two slots at the rear portion thereof, for greatly facilitatingadjustment in circumference or girth of the headband.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study ofthe following description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top, perspective view of a safety cap embodying the presentinvention and provided with a crown strap suspension detachably securedto a headband, and wherein the cap, crown strap suspension, and headbandare shown separated or exploded to more clearly illustrate theadjustable features thereof;

FIG. 2 is a side, fragmentary view of the rear adjustable portion of theheadband 16 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top, perspective, fragmentary view of the rear adjustableportion of headband 16 of FIG. 1 showing the ends of the headbandseparated to more clearly illustrate their construction;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, perspective view of a collar button 9 such asused throughout the suspension shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a top, perspective view of a modification of the headband andincluding chin and nape straps.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the nape strap shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side view of the nape strap shown in FIG. 6;

'FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of element 38 of FIG. 5; and,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary top view of the headband shown inFIG. 5.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, numeral 1generally denotes a safety cap of plastic, metal or other suitablematerial (although it should be understood that a safety hat could beused instead), which cap has an integral front visor portion 2 andarcuate side portions 3. The opposite side of the cap has the sameappearance. The arcuate portions 3 prevent contact with the ears of thewearer and attendant discomfort.

At circumferentially spaced points about the perimeter of the cap areattached four rivets 4 for permanently fastening the central fingerportions, through holes 5 of plastic three-fingered suspending elements6. In some instances, however, readily detachable fasteners may be usedinstead of rivets 4. Four of such suspending elements 6 are provided,each having side finger portions 12 having holes 13 for receiving neckportions 22 of collar buttons 9 of the construction more clearly shownin FIG. 4, provided with a neck 22, bead 23 and base 21. The collarbutton, in turn, is detachably secured to selective pairs of holes 14formed at the front of plastic band 18 of the headband 16. At the rearportion of the headband 16, the collar buttons 9 mounted on the sidefinger portions 12 are projected into slots 15 formed in the plasticband 18 to provide adjustability in girth. Two such pairs of slots 15are provided, one on each side of the rear portion, whereas two sets ofholes 14 are provided, one on each side of the front portion of theheadband so that the two pairs of front fingers or suspending elements 6are held in selective holes at fixed points, whereas the two pairs ofrear suspending elements 6 are automatically slidable in slots of theheadband after the headband has been adjusted in circumference.

In order to provide for vertical adjustment of crown strap suspension 11for different sizes of heads, two cross strips of plastic material aredisposed in intersecting relationship with a collar button 9 extendingthrough registering holes at the center of the strips. Each end portionof each strip is provided with two slots 9 and 10 for selective use inattaching to the collar buttons 9 extending through a hole in the top ofsuspending element 6, whereby the height of the intersecting straps,that is, the height of the central portion of the crown strap suspension11 may be varied.

The plastic strip '18 of headband 16 has sewed at 19 to the lowerportion a leather sweat band 17 which is folded at the bottom 20 andprovided with a plurality of diagonally extending perforations forventilation. The end portions of the headband 16 are overlapped byvariable amounts so as to provide an adjustment of the circumference orgirth of the headband for different head sizes of the wearer. When theproper overlap or adjustment has been obtained, and as best shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, a collar button 9 is extended through the selectedregistering holes 23 in plastic strip 18 and an encircling flexiblestrap portion 21 is looped over the tops of seat band 17 and strip 18 ofthe headband sothat the collar button 9 may also be inserted through ahole formed at the free end of strap portion 21 to compact the assembly.

The headband may be readily adjusted in the girth or circumferencemerely by attaching or detaching a collar button 9, also the height ofthe crown strap suspension may be varied without removal of thesuspension elements 6 from their permanent attachment to the innersurface of cap 1. It is merely necessary to detach the collar button 9from one hole 10 and insert it in another, vertically disposedtherewith, to raise the height of the crown strap suspension.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the headband and wherein like numeralsindicate the same parts illustrated in FIG. 1.

A modification is made by integrally molding buttons or projections 14'on both sides of the front portion of the headband instead of providingholes through which separate collar buttons are projected.

In order to hold the headband and suspension firmly on the head, a chinstrap 36 may be provided including a strap portion 42 for engaging thechin and an adjustable portion 43 which projects through a slot 41 inportion 40 of a clip 38, which clip is pivotally mounted by projecting acollar button 9 through hole 39. The entire chin strap assembly, denotedby numeral 37, is used alone under ordinary circumstances.

In some situations, and more often, instead of using a chin strapassembly 37, a nape strap 31 is used which comprises a central portion31 which is serrated at 34 to provide frictional contact under the napeof the neck. Each end portion 32 of the nape strap is provided withholes 33 through which a collar button 9 may be selectively inserted toadjust the strap to fit diiferent head sizes of wearers. Thus it will beseen that we have provided a light and etfi-cient safety capconstruction and suspension for enabling quick and easy adjustment ofthe girth and height of the crown strap suspension involving the meredetachment and attachment of collar buttons; furthermore, we haveprovided a novel suspension which is also useful for safety hats.

While we have illustrated several embodiments of our invention, it willbe understood that these are by way of illustration only, and thatvarious changes and modifications may be made Within the contemplationof our invention and within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

1. A crown strap suspension for safety headgear comprising a pair ofcross straps of plastic strip material, the ends of said straps havinglongitudinally disposed holes, a plurality of plastic suspendingelements each having a top central portion having a hole therein, acorrespond ing plurality of collar buttons, each of said suspendingelements being attached to the end of a different one of said straps byaligning the hole in the central portion of said suspending element witha selected one of the holes in said straps enabling adjustment of theheight of the suspension, each of said suspending elements having acentral finger for attachment to the inside surface of said headgear andhaving side fingers having holes therein with collar buttons and aheadband having selectively overlapped end portions for adjusting thegirth of the headband and having slots adjacent each of said endportions into which said collar buttons of the side fingers extend,whereby adjustment in height may be made without detaching saidsuspending elements from said headgear.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,207,137 12/1916 Clore 2181.82,769,176 11/1956 Grancsay et al. 23 2,814,043 11/1957 Alesi 2-33,008,145 11/1961 Austin et a1. 23 3,026,523 3/1962 'Bowers et al. 233,041,621 7/1962 Brockway 23 3,087,164 4/ 1963 Gilbert 23 3,089,1445/1963 Cherup 23 3,187,342 6/1965 Aileo 23 3,192,536 7/1965 Benner 23JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

J. R. BOLER, Examiner.

1. A CROWN STRAP SUSPENSION FOR SAFETY HEADGEAR COMPRISING A PAIR OFCROSS STRAPS OF PLASTIC STRIP MATERIAL, THE ENDS OF SAID STRAPS HAVINGLONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED HOLES, A PLURALITY OF PLASTIC SUSPENDINGELEMENTS EACH HAVING A TOP CENTRAL PORTION HAVING A HOLE THEREIN, ACORRESPONDING PLURALITY OF COLLAR BUTTONS, EACH OF SAID SUSPENDINGELEMENTS BEING ATTACHED TO THE END OF A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID STRAPS BYALIGNING THE HOLE IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID SUSPENDING ELEMENT WITHA SELECTED ONE OF THE HOLES IN SAID STRAPS ENABLING ADJUSTMENT OF THEHEIGHT OF THE SUSPENSION, EACH OF SAID SUSPENDING ELEMENTS HAVING ACENTRAL FINGER FOR ATTACHMENT TO THE INSIDE SURFACE OF SAID HEADGEAR ANDHAVING SIDE FINGERS HAVING HOLES THEREIN WITH COLLAR BUTTONS AND AHEADBAND HAVING SELECTIVELY OVERLAPPED END PORTIONS FOR ADJUSTING THEGIRTH OF THE HEADBAND AND HAVING SLOTS ADJACENT EACH OF SAID ENDPORTIONS INTO WHICH SAID COLLAR BUTTONS OF THE SIDE FINGERS EXTEND,WHEREBY ADJUSTMENT IN HEIGHT MAY BE MADE WITHOUT DETACHING SAIDSUSPENDING ELEMENTS FROM SAID HEADGEAR.